Tabs

Monday, January 13, 2014

After four long years of seeing Lionel Messi claim the Ballon d'Or award, Cristiano Ronaldo has won the 2013 Ballon d'Or. The Real Madrid player finished ahead of Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich) and Lionel Messi (Barcelona), earning the second Ballon d'Or of his career. In an important year for Real Madrid and especially Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo has shown that the competition to be the world's top player isn't anywhere near over, especially with the 2014 World Cup in Brazil approaching.

Alongside Ronaldo and equally victorious at FIFA's award ceremony were Nadine Angerer (Women's World Player of the Year), Silvia Neid (World Coach of the Year for Women's Football), and Jupp Heynckes (World Coach of the Year for Men's Football). FIFA also awarded the FIFPro World XI, which consisted of Manuel Neuer in goal; a back four of Dani Alves, Sergio Ramos, Thiago Silva, and Philip Lahm; a midfield trio of Xavi, Ribery, and Iniesta; and the deadly attacking trident of Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Ibrahimovic also won the FIFA Puskas award with his truly awesome overhead kick when Sweden beat England 4-2 in a friendly. A big congratulations to all the winners, it's just a shame we won't be seeing more goals by Ibrahimovic at the 2014 World Cup.